Ascent of Persephone
by ricecooker2000
Summary: An ambitious heir, a witch with an offer, and the contract that started it all: "Code GEASS". Completely Modern Day AU Universe.
1. The Ascent

Um... it's another one of those no-plot, no-point, randomly-inspired one-shot. Completely modern day AU. Don't judge me! T_T

Disclaimer: Do not own characters from Code Geass.

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"_Stay away from those who you do not wish to lose." - CC_  
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The woman is wearing a dress of red. The exact same shade in the blood tart seeds of a pomegranate. It's flattering on her figure, clinging to the right curves and hanging loose in others. There's a lone pair of silvery dangles falling from her ears and half hidden in her loose, raven-colored hair. She doesn't believe in gaudy, expensive jewelry.

A white and black-striped tie covers her eyes. Her hands are also bound by a silk tie, and she is being lead haphazardly by her good friend.

"Where are you taking me?" CC laughs nervously, "And why do I need to be blind-folded?"

"It's a surprise," Shirley giggles back.

CC feels her lead go slack. And then deft hands untying her wrists.

"Here's your hotel room card, and your clutch with your phone and some cash. Kallen says you're not allowed to come back to the house tonight."

The woman scoffs. "This is going pretty far for a blind-date don't you think?"

"Well what else can we do? You leave half of your dates in tears and the other half tied to the bedpost unable to come after you. It's been so long since-" Shirley wisely decides to stop there, and not go further.

"Anyways, just have fun and enjoy yourself ok? Don't take off the tie until after I leave."

"...fine," CC whispers back, Shirley's half-finished sentence already invoking unwanted memories.

It's not her fault the guys so far have been dead-beat losers who only has eyes on her money or her body. And she cannot help the fact her mind is still stuck in an endless loop that begins and ends five years ago. Hopelessly trapped within the evil clutches of a demon king-

CC snaps out of her reverie when she realizes how stupid she must look standing there by herself. Her hands immediately goes up to slide off the blindfold.

Her amber eyes blink, taking in an empty, dark hallway with a pair of closed curtains in front of her. The carpet underfoot is thick, and silences her footsteps. There's light coming from the thin opening between the curtains, and she walks on over to peek.

She's at the Pendragon concert hall. An expensive, exclusive balcony seat by the look of it. The high ceiling seems to rise into the night sky, there's opulent gold-accented decorations everywhere, and strains of harmonizing music float up from the main stage.

CC has heard about this luxurious establishment. Built in honor of the late Clovis vi Brittannia, the massive auditorium also features upstairs hotel suites from the world-famous Ashford branch.

_How in the world are my roommates able to afford this? Unless..._

Her gaze zeros in on the sole person sitting in the plush, velvet seats. She can only see the top half of his head, and the rest is blocked from her angle.

Her blind-date. He must be obscenely rich.

She carefully examines the only visible part of the man's head. Trying to gather information on his character from just the shape and color of his hair. And not getting much.

CC draws back. Lets the curtain fall noiselessly back in place.

Nerves seize her. She wants to go find a restroom and freshen up first. And to see what kind of ridiculous makeup is painted on her face. CC begins to backtrack the opposite way, to the other end of the hallway. Where she's sure there will be signs for the ladies' room.

As she nears the end, the hair on her neck prickles. Her pulse quickens, goosebumps appear on her skin, and there's a sudden stillness in the air that she always associates with danger.

CC pauses. There's nobody in the hallway. She glances behind her. The curtains are just as she left them.

A well-lit corridor beckons to CC straight ahead, and she decidedly quickens her stride. Her grip on her clutch tightens, ready to use whatever means necessary to defend herself.

Rounding the corner fast, she comes face to face with the very last person she wants to see. The person she has been running from all this time.

The devil himself: Lelouch vi Britannia.

"CC? What are you-"

She doesn't even let him finish. In her years of existence. One rule holds true: survival of the fittest. When a living being, man or beast, is cornered, backed up against the wall with limited options, there's only two choices.

Fight. Or flight.

And CC always chooses the latter.

She doesn't even spare him another glance as she makes a dash for another hallway. Her mind screams at her to find the elevator. Or a bathroom. Anything with a locked door that will stop him from finding her.

Thankfully, she sees the shiny doors of an elevator right ahead. She punches at both the up and down button, but realizes she doesn't know where to go. Remembering Shirley's instructions, she looks down at the card clutched in her right hand.

The room number is 726. Seventh floor.

Too late, she hears the sounds of rapidly approaching footsteps. She looks over her shoulder, and sees him turning into the hallway.

"CC, wait!"

She grits her teeth. Whips away and goes for the emergency stairway instead. If she remembers correctly, a grandma on a walker can run faster than him.

The number three is painted on the door she bulldozes through. Meaning only four floors to climb. She doesn't have much trouble running in heels. God knows she's had enough practice before.

As she climbs, she also listens to the following steps of his progress. It gets slower and slower as the distance between them grows. The side of her mouth quirks. Definitely the same Lelouch.

The number seven door grins back at her as it looms on ahead. She tries to close it quietly as possible so he wouldn't know which door she went through. A quick glance at the directions on the wall tells her the room is to her left. She follows in the general direction, her mind swimming.

_How did he find me? Did Shirley know and was she in on it? Is it a huge coincidence he was there at the right time and place? _

She turns another corner, pauses to catch her breath, and checks the room number.

_It's been five years. He looks... well. A lot taller, and his face a bit sharper..._

CC sees the door to her room. She lets out a breath of relief, walks on over, and a hand slams into the wall in front of her.

Her eyes widen with disbelief. "How did you-?"

"I counted the number of steps it took you to run up a flight and calculated the floor," Lelouch bites out tightly, "Why are you always running away like I'm some sort of disease?"

But that's exactly what he is. A viral case of empty promises and bitter memories.

She looks straight ahead at his freshly-pressed suit with matching tie. Pointedly not meeting his gaze.

"I'm not," CC lies with a perfectly blank expression, "I'm in a rush to get to my room. I forgot something important, and my date is waiting for me downstairs."

"Your date." He deadpans. The hand at the wall clenches into a fist. She tells herself to stand her ground.

Lelouch can always tell when someone is lying.

"Yes. My date. Contrary to what it seems, I can go out in public and have fun sometimes." CC crosses her arms, one eyebrow going up as if daring him to call her bluff.

He seems caught off guard for a moment. His violet eyes bear down at her intently, and then drop to the ground in what she can only describe as embarrassment. But the old Lelouch she knew would never feel shame.

"CC..." Her name sounds too familiar, too intimate in his low voice, "I need to talk to you. You come and go like the wind. It's been five goddamn years since I last heard from you. At least tell me what happened."

"He's waiting for-"

"I'll apologize to him. Hell, I'll send him a dozen roses with chocolates. Just give me a few minutes of your time."

If she was five years younger, she would have given him an eternity. But now every second is like another bleeding knife wound waiting to happen.

He looks thinner, CC notes with a pang. His frame is gaunt and his pale skin draws thinly over his elegant jaw. His hair is growing out. Black, unruly bangs hanging in such a manner she has to resist the urge to fix it.

She knows she lost the moment she meets his eyes. An intense mix of mesmerizing indigo pulls her in with forceful violence. Nobody would believe her if she says there's a magnetic pull in those eyes, something that's borderline supernatural. She wouldn't believe herself either.

CC knows he's a practiced, pathological liar. A cheating, manipulative bastard. But the way he looks at her convinces her he's telling the truth. At least, this time.

"Sure," she finds herself answering in an unnaturally calm voice, "Would you like to come in for a drink?"

Surprise flits across his features for a split second and it's gone. Lelouch nods wordlessly, and follows her inside.

Almost immediately she pulls away to a safe distance. She takes her time in browsing through the huge selection at the stocked mini bar. There's drinks that an average person cannot afford with a year's salary. She pulls out a well-aged bottle of Merlot and pours them both a half glass.

CC seats herself primly across the small round coffee table with her drink. Lelouch stares at his like it's poison.

"You dyed your hair again," he starts lamely after a long, heavy pause, "I'm never going to see your natural color am I?"

CC hates it when the topic gets that personal. It's a common ploy of his. To start off like familiar friends and then work under her skin. She takes a long sip from her glass, and admires the rich burgundy swishing at the bottom.

"Don't play those games with me," she replies airily, "just come out with it: 'Why did I leave you that day?'" His face grows dark at her flippant tone.

"You wouldn't tell me the truth even if I asked."

"Oh? So you have finally realized what kind of witch I actually am."

"Utterly twisted. Selfish and unrepentant." He agrees with a smile that doesn't reach his eyes.

Her face feels warm. She hopes it is the wine. "If you're not here to yell at me or question my actions, then why are you here?"

"Does he make you happy?" Lelouch asks suddenly.

Her grip on the wine glass tightens. "We're not together. Mao and I."

Lelouch's left eye twitches. His mouth thins in a line of disapproval. "Then who-"

"That's really none of your business Lelouch." She doesn't like the way his name rolls off of her tongue so easily. As if all those years of self-loathing and enforced solitude amount to nothing.

"Cornelia was behind this wasn't _she_? Or was it _Schneizel_? They never did approve of you..."

CC sighs tiredly. "No, they were not. It was my own choice."

"Then why CC? Why?" The agony in his cracking voice is so convincing. He deserves an award for his acting skills.

"Geass."

The secret between them. The tie that originally bound them together and the reason for who he is now.

His features twist into confusion. "How-"

"Because of Geass, all your dreams were coming true. You've surpassed your siblings, gained all the power and influence you wanted. Everyone's eyes were trained on you, and as the indisputable succeeding heir to the Brittannia corporation, every aspect of your life was shoved in front of the spotlight. It was the most appropriate time for me and my team to step off the stage and hand it over to you. Besides," CC adds with a rueful smile, "you're expected to marry someone more fitting of your station."

"That's the exact type of bullshit I've been working to do away with! My first course of action would be to ask for your hand-"

"Stop it. You know that would never work. To start off with such a drastic change would make a lot of people unhappy. Media and intelligence would run a countless number of background checks on me and eventually uncover my history. It would compromise my team as well as yours. Such damage to your reputation would make your position unstable. Besides, think of Nunnally."

The two of them fall quiet at the mention of Lelouch's little sister. She is the youngest of the family, and his father's favorite. She's bright, kind, and has all the qualities of a natural leader. Yet just a few days after her seventh birthday, Nunnally was kidnapped.

Charles vi Britannia went crazy with rage. He hired the nation's top agents in a mass-scale rescue effort. But it did not go as planned, and as a result of the unsuccessful rescue attempt, Nunnally lost her eyesight, and was maimed for life.

A brutal testament to just how coveted the spot of Brittannia's heir actually is.

Thus began Lelouch's obsession of becoming the head of his father's massive empire. He thought that if he could conquer the bickering mergers and combine everyone's acquisitions, their world would be a different place. A gentler, more forgiving one for innocent and helpless people like Nunnally. So that his little sister can live in peace without fearing for her safety.

And now they both see just how naïve he was.

Back then he was rash. If there was a simple, fast solution; he took it. He had brilliant battle tactics, but when the time came to execute the shadier side of business, he needed a right-hand man in the shadows. A team of con artists, hackers, and most important of all, assassins.

That's how he met CC. The gray witch of an underground organization that went by the name of "The Black Knights" approached him with an offer. Their underhand methods to get the results he wanted, but for a hefty price.

The master plan for Lelouch's takeover was titled "Code GEASS", and it was their little secret. It outlined the necessary steps for the coup, in addition to being the binding contract between the two parties.

The plan seemed simple. The terms of the contract, even more so:

_1) She does not reveal his motives or identity to anyone._

_2) He does not reveal her motives or identity to anyone._

_3) After GEASS is successful, she will leave once she is paid the agreed amount._

Together, they became co-conspirators. Allies who became friends. Friends who later became lovers.

However, after the succession ceremony, Lelouch kept putting off the matter of payment. For some reason, everyone on her team received a handsome monetary "gift." Every last one, even useless Tamaki.

Just not her.

CC isn't stupid. She knew he had the money. She knew what his sideways glances and his unorthodox gestures meant.

And she knew it would be the end of him. It would undo all of their hard work and sacrifices in pushing him up to the top. So to make matters simple, she packed up her things and did what she is well known for: a quiet and discrete exit.

For five years she's been hiding. Working alongside her old team but staying remote in case he ever decides to use them to trace her. The only team member she's close with is Kallen, a fiery-tempered redhead whose loyalty is only second to her fighting skills.

The unbelievable irony is that their roommate Shirley, clueless and ditzy Shirley who knows nothing of their shady alter egos, is the one who manages to organize this fiasco of a reunion. She pulled it off so effectively, albeit, unknowingly.

CC takes advantage of the silence to study him. Commits his strong, handsome profile to memory even though she isn't even close to forgetting. His features twist into a dark, brooding look, telling her he's furiously going through thousands of scenarios in his head. Her stomach flutters at the familiar scowl cutting across his face, and she knows he's on the brink of another brilliant plan for disaster.

She cannot give him the luxury of time. Any more and he will expose her weakness and take it all.

"Why would you subject me to that kind of torture anyways? I don't like crowds, I don't like socializing, and I never would have liked living life in the limelight," CC flatly says.

"Well now you won't have to," Lelouch promises, "I'm resigning as CEO and president."

Her eyes grow wide. "What?"

"Yes. I've recently signed a contract with the Kururugi clan, handing over my holdings and my position. It'll officially broadcast in a few weeks time after Jeremiah hashes out the details," he announces.

"That's-that's impossible!" CC exclaims, "You and Suzaku have always been rivals. Your families have been fighting for decades over the industry and now you're handing it all over to him?"

"Correct."

"Have you gone mad?"

A mirthless chuckle from his side of the table. "Perhaps. All because of you." His tone turns serious. The intensity in his gaze is really doing a number on her uneven breathing.

"CC. Come back. I'm a nobody now. For all they care, I'm as good as dead."

Alarm bells begin to ring in her head. Personal boundaries are being crossed again and she is getting uncomfortable with the direction the conversation is heading.

"I'm leaving." She stands up.

He stops her with a hand at her wrist. "Don't." She shoots him a hard stare.

"I'll go. This is your room after all," he amends quietly. With feline grace, Lelouch rises out of his seat and comes to stand in front of her.

Yet his hand still holds onto her wrist.

"You're not letting go." She cannot help but point out. In a tight, pained whisper.

He glances down. An unusual sadness slides over his usual mask. "No. I guess not."

She waits. He doesn't move.

Patience running out, CC shakes him off and starts for the door. She avoids brushing his shoulder as she passes by.

That's when he says it. The one word which always reminds her of soft whispers, stolen kisses, and that one night in Narita mountain.

Her real name.

She goes still. His other hand brushes away her curtain of hair, and comes to rest on her bare shoulder. She feels his breath on the exposed skin of her neck.

The conniving devil says it again, and this time she cannot contain the emotions threatening to boil over.

"Y-you're not allowed to say that."

She can feel his triumphant curl of a smirk. Even though she knows it's a bad idea, she turns around to face him.

CC is very aware when she is being placed in check. His pieces are assembled in the right place, and her king helpless to defend itself.

Her armor is down. Her poker face dissolving. And all that is left is a half-broken, lonely little girl.

She waits for his taunts. For his trademark victory grin that spelled out defeat for every last one of his opponents.

Instead, CC finds herself looking into a mirror.

His voice comes out strained and uneven, "You have no idea what you do to me."

Without warning, he closes the distance between them. Seals her lips with his cruel slant of a mouth and silences her thoughts.

CC wonders why she isn't resisting. Why her hands aren't pushing away but entangling themselves in his dark hair. Why her traitorous body is clinging onto him like he's her last breath of life.

But she already has the answer.

Lelouch goes at it like a crazed man. There's no finesse, no sophistication in his kisses that he usually displays. He's so out of control that even CC doesn't know how to handle him.

The back of her knees hits the side of the mattress. He lands on top of her hard, unapologetic like the harsh man he is, and frankly she does not care.

She writhes and squirms underneath his hands. He pushes her dress up. She retaliates by scratching at the skin underneath his shirt. He leaves a stinging trail of teethmarks. She pulls insistently on the zipper of his pants, and takes greedily.

A hiss escapes CC's mouth when he enters her. It's really been that long. Her body does not remember the feel of him, and she already knows there will be an ache in the morning.

She meets each of his angry thrusts with eagerness. Watches with fierce satisfaction as his pupils dilate, his breathing hitches, and his eyes flutter shut with pleasure. He always blushes so easily, CC recalls suddenly.

His head falls heavily on the pillow besides her. He takes a few moments to steady himself, and too soon she finds his gaze affixing upon her.

"You..." he begins thickly, but then words seem to escape him.

_Well that's a first. _

CC absently muses if this is what it will take for him to get over her. A messy tumble between the sheets, and in the morning they can go on their separate ways.

Lelouch can say all kinds of things, promise all sorts of beautiful new beginnings, but in the end that is exactly he is notoriously known for: a silver tongue with a flair for the theatrics.

In the harsh, unforgiving daylight, will he still get down on both knees and beg for her to stay? What is there to benefit him if they end up together?

Absolutely nothing.

If she knows Lelouch well, and that's one thing CC is sure of, he will not make a single move that will leave him worse off.

Lelouch slowly flips onto his back, bringing her upright and straddling the top of his stomach.

"... sorry," he admits slowly as his finger traces patterns up her back, his eyes narrowing at light bruises growing in the soft light. A thumb latches on, and pulls at the straps that hold up her dress. "I did not mean to be so... rough."

She's about to make a smart retort to the strange comment. But her dress is already pooling at her waist, her bra coming undone, and his mouth is closing over one of her breasts.

"Ah..."

His tongue lashes out. Sweeps in a indulgent fashion over the hardened nipple, and CC braces herself with an arm against the headstand. A daring hand goes up to fondle the other, squeezing, tugging, and exerting the exact amount of pressure that turns her into a seething pool of heat.

CC inwardly curses his perfect memory. But all that comes out of her mouth are shallow breaths and whimpers. Waves of pleasure crashes down upon her, and she gasps out his name, begging for release.

Lelouch glances up, a devilish glint in his eyes. No warning at all. That is his style. She is completely taken by surprise as he pulls her up higher, and his head travels down, ducking underneath the bunched red dress.

She can feel his tongue, his mouth as he forces himself through. Her panties are already torn and lying somewhere on the ground. Nothing between them but bare skin.

A sharp intake of breath. Hips rocking wildly to an unheard rhythm. Her knuckles turning white against carved mahogany. Then finally, the entire universe falls at her feet, flashing by in lightning speed before unseeing eyes.

There's a sensation of being lowered gently. As she regains her senses, CC finds herself on a soft pillow, with the lights turning off. She feels Lelouch sinking into the bed besides her. His fingers goes to twirl in her long, black hair. He stays curiously silent.

CC can't see his expression at all. She is alarmed at this change in him. Lelouch always likes to be in control. He has always been smooth, calculating, and if anything, a bit prudish.

The man lying next to her is not the same one from five years ago. His behavior tonight does not make sense to her.

Lelouch takes a slow, measured breath. His fingers stop playing with her hair. His words comes out low in the muted darkness

"Remember what you once said to me?"

"Hmm?"

"The power of the black king comes with a price. People who use Geass are condemned to a life of loneliness."

She goes still. Of course she remembers.

It's one of the first things she told him on the day they met. It's also written on the note she left on his desk the day she disappeared.

"Yes," she replies softly.

"Well, I don't quite agree." An arm goes around her waist, pulls her in close until her nose brushes against his collarbone. She feels his chin resting on the crown of her head.

"You're not alone. If you're going to be a witch, then I'll be the warlock." His hold on her tightens, "I have another contract for you."

CC curls up against his side, her hand resting like a sleepy kitten in the crook of his neck. "... tell me."

He says the words along with the taste of salt and tears.

It's the truth. He says it so simply, without his usual grandiose manner and embellishments.

For the longest time since she can remember, CC feels her mouth moving, slowly and miraculously transforming her face.

A real, true smile.

* * *

Notes:

- I'm sure a lot of people has heard of story of Persephone and Hades from Greek Mythology. The title refers to spring, the time of the year when Persephone comes back up to the mortal realm from her stay with Hades. Now here comes the weird part... and I don't know if this will make sense to people... but I see CC as Hades, offering Geass as the pomegranate, and Lelouch is actually the one who took a bite and doomed himself to the underworld. And yet, despite it all, there's light at the end of the tunnel, and for awhile it'll be spring before it gets dark again. I thought it was fitting, considering Code Geass as a whole is Lelouch trying to break out of the vicious cycle by setting up his own death. So in this story, he hopes to break out with his resignation as the head of the Britannia empire, but he won't know if it'll work or not, and there's the threat of everything repeating itself again in the future. Makes for an interesting story me thinks. lol

- Honestly, this was one of those weird dreams I had to write down and then accidentally expanded upon. The characters, once they started talking... sounded more and more like CC and Lelouch. So... why not? Hehe They're an all-time fav pairing of mine.

- Definitely took liberties with the references and borrowed dialogue from actual anime. Hope I didn't butcher it too much.

- I don't think I need to explicitly say what Lelouch said at the end. Leave it up to readers' imagination. ;D

- Am I the only one who thought CC looked cool when she wore that black wig in one of those R2 episodes?


	2. The Abduction

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_"I do not know why snow is white, but I do find such white snow beautiful." - Lelouch_  
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Narita Mountain. A beautiful scenery in the winter, when the freshly powdered snow decorates the rugged landscape like frosting on a decadent cake.

Yet for Lelouch Lamperouge, there is more to the mountain that meets the eye. It's what lies hidden inside the cake that matters.

"Sakuradite," he murmurs with satisfaction, as his keen gaze runs over the screen with numbers and 3D models of the mountainside topography. One of the most sought-after mineral in the world, Sakuradite, when refined properly, is an excellent superconductor worth triple of its weight. Narita Mountain is known to be a mining and refining town because of the rare, pink-colored mineral. His father, Charles Vi Brittannia, owns many of the factories and businesses here, most of which are supervised by Cornelia.

A slow, calculating grin materializes on the young man's features.

One of the first steps in his plan is to weaken his own father's empire. He needs to expose his sibling's weakness, capitalize on them, and when the stocks are dropping and most of the old board members replaced with his own subordinates, he'll make his first public move.

Until that day comes, he'll need to lie in the shadows. Orchestrate operations in secret and most importantly, do not be discovered.

A flash of green catches his eyes. Lelouch looks up, and sees none other than CC right out the window. He scowls. Slams his laptop shut and makes his way out of the rented log cabin.

"CC, what are you doing here?" Lelouch growls as he stalks his way over to her side. She doesn't turn at his approach, but continues to stare out at the growing flurries of ice and snow.

"I said I would watch over you didn't I? We have a contract."

His eyes narrow and he doesn't bother hiding the exasperation in his voice. "Aren't you overdoing it? I don't need a babysitter. The entire mountain is deserted in preparation for the upcoming snow storm. I have all the equipment set up and ready to go. You're supposed to be miles away, conducting another operation. Really CC, what am I paying you for?"

The girl does not bother answering his question. "I've always wondered. Why are you Lelouch?"

"I have no time to be discussing philosophy with you," he answers curtly.

"Why do you take your mother's maiden name, and shun your fathers? Yet you kept your first name, the one he gave you at birth when I advised to change your name entirely. Its too sentimental, and not practical enough. You're dwelling too much in the past." There is an edge to her voice. He lifts a brow in question. And wonders if she's still talking about him anymore.

Her words are not meant to hurt. So Lelouch doesn't bat an eye as he replies, "CC swings to the other extreme doesn't it? It's two letters. Hardly human."

She turns suddenly. The edge of her eyes tighten with rare emotion, and then as suddenly as it appears, it's gone. He realizes with a start that she looks lost.

But what really amazes him is the amount he cares.

"Lelouch," she says his name carefully, with no bitterness or malice, "Do you know why snow is white?" The corners of her lips lift in a wistful smile. Lelouch finds himself incapable of speaking.

"Snow is white because its forgotten what color it's supposed to be."

He doesn't know what to say. She's talking in riddles and there's an unsettling clenching in his stomach. Before he can answer, the walkie talkie at his hip blares out. He shuts his eyes with annoyance.

He cannot lose focus. Not now. Not ever.

"All units ready and in position. Awaiting further instructions."

The mask is back on. No more emotions. No more philosophical musings.

Back to business.

Lelouch detaches the communicator and presses the speaker button. "Alright. All preparations have been completed. Black Knights, prepare to move out!" He tosses a look over to her. "You're not supposed to be here. Leave."

CC flips her unnatural green hair. She doesn't even spare him a glance as she slides back inside her black BMW. The tires make begrudging tracks in the grey melted snow, and Lelouch returns to his work station inside.

He checks the placed explosives. Looks over his calculations again, and then sits back in his chair.

Sakuradite. A wonderful source of energy when extracted properly. However, in its raw, unrefined form, the pink stone is highly unstable. Any disturbance will cause it to unleash a powerful, destructive explosion.

Just like a bomb.

Lelouch's thumb lightly taps against the remote detonator in his hand. A gleeful grin, the same one a child would have with a new-found toy, paints across his demonic face.

"Goodbye Cornelia," Lelouch murmurs. And he presses the button.

Within seconds, he can feel the vibrations reverberate from his side of the mountain. The Black Knights planted the Radiant Surge devices Rakshata designed for him on the southern side, well away from his cabin. He also has a helicopter-manned by Kallen- circulating the mountain so that he can stream a bird-eye view of the avalanche as it happens.

Lelouch watches with rapt attention as the devastation spreads. It only takes a few carefully placed detonators to set the whole mountain in motion. His indigo eyes track the path of destruction the mass of snow, ice, and mud leaves in its wake. He leans slightly forward, his fingers steepling together. In just mere moments, companies that took years to establish are torn apart. His older sister will be spending the majority of her time here now, handling damage control while he can move onto the next phase of his plan. Cornelia is a cunning and perceptive business woman. He cannot act out with her tight security entrenched around the Britannia family. The success of this operation depends on how much time it can buy him, as there is one less obstacle in his way.

His dark brows draw together. Seems like he's miscalculated the multiplier. The avalanche's reach is more destructive than he has allocated for. It tears through half of the residential area, and reaches as far as the next major interstate highway.

Oh well. Higher collateral damage will make for a more sensational story for the press later.

Lelouch mildly wonders if he should have consulted a physics professor before he detonated Rakshata's bombs. Or perhaps CC would have known-

"Shit."

That witch. She's headed downhill, right into the brunt of the avalanche. He hopes to the heavens that she has the sense to avoid the routes he has outlined in the extensive emails. Then he curses again.

CC never checks her messages. She falls asleep at meetings and is surprisingly hard to get ahold of via any kind of electronic communication. One would think a criminal mastermind would stay more in touch with her allies, but not this woman.

_Why, why, why!_

His mind chants up a mantra storm as he sprints to his car. Tires squealing, Lelouch barely makes the first turn in the slushy, slippery snow. He flips open his cell, but there is no reception this high up in the mountain side.

"Dammit CC, don't you dare-" Lelouch stops mid-sentence as he rounds another sharp turn, and almost runs right into a wall of snow-covered debris. He slams on the brakes, and catches sight of a familiar vehicle half-buried in the snow.

Lelouch jumps out. "CC!" Panic seizes him as he attempts to climb the wall of ice as he tries to reach the black BMW. He grabs ahold of a protruding tree branch, and his feet finds a foothold in the icy incline. Five arduous minutes later, Lelouch finally pulls himself up to the top, out of breath and slightly sweating. He scrapes the snow off of the rear window with an elbow and peers inside fearfully.

Nobody there.

A breath of relief. CC has an uncanny ability to survive. She must have escaped from the car when she saw the avalanche coming. Lelouch looks around, but the roadside is completely buried in snow, mud, and debris. White continues to fall from the sky, as if he needs a reminder that the predicted snowstorm is on its way.

He tries calling out her name again, but only silence answers him. Lelouch leans over to the other side of the car, where it leans precariously against the railing that lies tangent to the edge. Nothing.

"Where is she?" he mutters to himself. A familiar voice comes on his walkie talkie.

"Zero. What's your status? The storm is on its way. Pickup at the cabin in five minutes."

"Q-3," he tries to keep his voice calm and contained, "Standby. I've run into some... complications."

"What's going on?" her voice rises with apprehension.

"CC. I'm trying to locate her."

"CC's here?! She was supposed to be at Tokyo tower with Diethard-"

"Yes. I know." Lelouch grits his teeth. "But when has she listened to my orders?" He circles the vehicle slowly, looking for footprints or a hint of her trail.

"Look, I'll get in touch with you when I-" The walkie talkie slips out of his hand as he steps on an unsteady patch of black and loses footing. His eyes widen. Curses spill out of his lips as his world suddenly tilts upward, and the grey, snowing skies greet him for a moment before his vision goes dark.

"Zero?! Zero can you hear me?" Kallen's voice repeats with an electronic crackle.

But nobody answers.

xxxxxx

xxxxxx

The first sensation he recognizes is cold. It is freezing, the cold so poignant that it seeps into his very bones.

The second is pain.

His left ankle throbs. He surmises it might be broken, or at least, severely sprained. Even in his half-conscious state, he has the sense to not try moving it, lest he makes the injury worse.

Lelouch slowly, cautiously opens his eyes. At first, he couldn't tell the difference. It's completely dark. The air is damp, and if he listens carefully, he can hear the quiet drips of water. He must be in a cave. The dying blood rays of the sun barely reaches him, diluted by feet of snow and ice which cover the entrance.

A sudden rustle of clothing to his left. He doesn't need to see to know who it is. The endless hours in her company -researching, plotting, even bickering- has somehow familiarized him to her presence.

"CC?"

"I found you stuck in a tree and carried you back to the cave before the worst of the snow storm started." Her low, melodious voice echoes through the cavern. Lelouch sighs, and leans back.

"Right. I fell. Trying to find you."

"That," CC hisses at him angrily, "was not necessary. You do not need to put yourself at risk for me. I have survived and lived through worse. Your pride always gets in the way at the most ridiculous moments."

A sharp intake of breath. He looks up at her narrowed, amber gaze, glowing with irritation in the shadows.

"You didn't even have to be here to detonate the bombs. You should have left the entire operation to Ohgi and Kallen," CC bites out ruthlessly.

"If the king does not lead, how can he expect his subordinates to follow?"

"The game is _over_ if the king is captured."

"Perhaps," he admits tiredly. CC wisely decides to not expend any more energy lecturing him, and instead continues in a more subdued voice, "Kallen will come find us when it's all clear. The storm is raging outside, and there is no safe way for her to reach us until the blizzard calms down."

"So we just wait? Here?" Lelouch demands.

"Yes." Her tone is final, brokering no arguments.

Lelouch grudgingly settles against the wall. It is cold. In his haste, he did not remember his jacket and all he has on is an open-collared shirt with a light sweater. His entire body trembles, and he clenches his jaw, refusing to let them chatter in the dark silence.

CC does not say anything. She sits right next to him, takes off her jacket, and flips it around while offering him one sleeve.

"What are you-"

"Stick your right arm through it," she orders tonelessly, as her left arm slips through the left sleeve, "It'll help keep you warm." Without further instructions, CC leans into his body, almost plastering herself against him so that both of them can fit underneath the makeshift blanket.

Lelouch stutters. "Is this a-absolutely necessary?"

"We need to conserve energy and body heat as long as possible. So yes. This is necessary," CC deadpans. And then scoots even closer.

To his horror, his body is slowly responding to her curves pressing against his front. He tries to shift away, but she soon follows, her thick white trenchcoat wrapping them together like a well-tailored strait-jacket. Lelouch inhales her scent unwillingly. It's fresh. Clean. And there's a hint of pepperoni and cheese in her hair.

He swallows the groan making its way up his throat.

No. This is CC. He reminds himself.

A valuable accomplice and paid partner-in-crime. Not even a friend. Not a woman. Well that's not particularly true, but for the sake of his sanity-

"Stop thinking. Go to sleep," she murmurs in the quiet coldness. Lelouch blinks.

_How does she always know?_

"CC?"

"Hmm?"

"Thank you. For saving me."

She doesn't say anything for the longest time. "We are on the same side, after all."

The ache in his foot prevents him from falling asleep. Lelouch tries to keep still as he savors warmth from her body. He counts to the sound of her even breathing, and tries to clear his head.

He struggles to not worry about the evidence left in the snow. Ohgi and the team was instructed on how to clean up afterwards. Kallen is smart enough to not get caught. On the other side, Diethard should be broadcasting propaganda campaigns to all major news channels.

All there is to do now is... wait. Which he hates. It's a waste of his time. He can be monitoring Schniezel's movements, or tracking Suzaku's hapless merger with Euphemia's real estate properties.

He scoffs. Now that is one business deal that will head straight downhill before the ink dries. Euphy, the gentle soul she is, will not last a second against the Kururugi clan, and he curses his father for letting the merger happen.

CC moves a bit in her sleep. Her side of the jacket is slipping off. Lelouch carefully extracts his left arm, and pulls it back slowly. Not sure if he's losing his mind, but his arm stays wrapped around CC's shoulder, and in turn draws her closer.

For body heat, he reassures himself silently.

Not because she is an attractive girl. Not because she has the brains and the wits to actually hold his attention for more than five minutes.

He wonders just exactly how she sees him. Up until today, he was certain she possessed no emotion. She is doing it all for the money, for the job, and nothing else.

And yet here she is, braving a snowstorm to rescue his clumsy ass from certain death, and going beyond the call of duty with sharing her jacket to keep him comfortable.

Well, as comfortable as he can be given the circumstances.

He feels her shivering, and pulls her tighter. In response, he feels her mouth move against his skin.

She utters one word. It's so quiet in the cave that it sounds like a thunderclap.

He concentrates on its meaning, the alluring sound of two syllables interplaying with each other, instead of the velvet feel of her lips at his throat. Realization suddenly hits him.

It's her real name.

Not for the first time, Lelouch wonders just who exactly is this girl. She appears out of nowhere, almost as if from thin air, and offers him a deal he just could not refuse. Intelligence and wisdom emanate from her mannerisms, but there's also hints of unspoken sorrow in the golden depths of her gaze. There's an air of maturity, one that is way beyond her twenty plus years, instilled in her slender frame, and he finds himself trusting her from the beginning. When he doesn't even know her real name, age, and how she came to be running such a shady organization.

He tests her name out loud. It flows easily from his mouth, and he decides he likes it. CC stiffens. Within seconds she becomes fully awake. Her voice cuts through the frozen air like a sharp blade. "You have a bad habit of eavesdropping."

"What's wrong? I think it's a good name." He says it again, only because he's enjoying her reaction. CC's right hand clenches into a tight fist against his shirt. "It's more human than CC," he softly adds.

It's the wrong thing to say. He immediately realizes his mistake as her muscles bunch and tense up like a rubber band stretched to the point of no return.

"Human?" CC's hisses. Her ferocity makes him wince. "As if I want to be anymore human! Look at the blood on my hand. The people that I have lied to and betrayed. They've all become nameless faces. Even the ones who showed me kindness. There is nothing human about what I do and who I am. CC is what I should be called. You will do well to remember _that_."

Lelouch is stunned. She has never lost control over her emotions like that. When she was practically lying on top of him before, CC now cannot seem to get far enough away from him. It's only the jacket and his arm that prevents her from moving.

He searches for the right words. The young aristocrat is naturally gifted with charisma and he has no trouble winning crowds over with his inspirational speeches. Yet here, alone in the cave with this slip of a girl, he can't seem to find the right ones.

"I'm only going to say this once," he begins heavily, "But... I always wanted to thank you." When she does not reply, Lelouch takes his chances and continues. "Because of this GEASS, because of your help, I have come this far in achieving my goal. I will change the world, for the better. I will see to my end of the contract and fulfill your desires as well as mine. So please-"

"Are you saying it to comfort me, Lelouch?" CC doesn't sound as happy at all. In fact, she seems even more forlorn. "Do you pity me? Or... is this part of your obsession?"

She doesn't say "lying" but they both know that's exactly what she means.

Lelouch takes a deep breath.

"No. It's a promise. From me to you." True sincerity colors his voice. And never has it been more important for Lelouch to have a person believe his words than this moment.

She shifts away again. Disappointment and hurt all dig daggers into his chest. He finds it hard to breath, and his arm drops back to his side. His eyes close, expecting her next words of rejection.

Instead he feels the brush of something soft against his mouth. A light, silken touch lingers against his lips, and her breath fans across his half-frozen face, warming him.

"Very well. I'll hold you to that promise."

He cannot make out her features. It's too dark for that. But he can feel her acceptance. Her smile even. He would have paid millions just to see exactly what kind of expression she has right now.

There's no more point in denying the attraction. The unbridled panic that seized him when he couldn't find her already proves he no longer sees her as just a paid mercenary. She's become more of a confidante, more of a companion than some of the members of his own family.

Still not quite friends, but as Lelouch pulls her back down for another kiss, he admits this can be the start of something so much better.

He's about to embark on a path filled with blood and violence. In order to create the new world he seeks, the foundation needs to be built on sacrifices and the tears of many. He knows there's a chance he will not be able persevere. He is human. He has moments of weaknesses. His eighteen-year-old shoulder is not nearly wide or broad enough to carry society's burdens.

But at least now he will not be alone.

* * *

Notes:

- Oh crap. I fell back into a Code Geass mood after watching 1st eps of the new OVA "Akito the Exiled". Gahhh I can never stop obsessing over CC x Lelouch!

- Expanding on the modern AU from first chapter. This is more of Lelouch's POV from the past (5 years before events of first chapter).

- If the first chap can be summed up as "dark, red, and sensual", then hopefully this chap has the feel of "white, innocence, and soft." Lelouch is just discovering his own feelings, and it's also a bit sad b/c it's going back in time, when readers already know from the prev chap that a lot of things will go wrong in the future.

- Therefore, the chap's title refers to the abduction of Persephone from the myth. Lelouch is dragged into something bigger than he can handle, but he has not taken the first "bite" of the pomegranate yet. I actually need to revise the meaning of pomegranate it's actually Geass and not CC (I would imagine the first bite would be the murder of... kk I need to shut up now. lol)

- There's more potential to add to this AU universe I created. But every time I brainstorm for this story... it hurts my head. lol I'll leave it as incomplete then. And feel free to add it to alerts, even there's no guarantees. Thoughts and comments are all welcome! :D


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